My son is three and has diagnosed ASD (somewhere in the middle of the spectrum) as well as sensory processing problems. He receives speech therapy/PORTAGE once every couple of weeks. He is currently at a mainstream nursery near his older brother's school. The school and nursery are both in a town around five miles from where we live (the schools where we live are less than desirable) and they are literally just a couple of miles into the neighboring county (it takes on average eight minutes to get there by car).
My younger son is due to start school next September, if he's ready that is. Most people can't tell that he is disabled at first until they realise he can't verbally communicate. I have decided to send him to the same school as his brother as he is improving every day and his disability doesn't seem problematic enough for him to be going to a special school (the nearest one to us is nearly 20 miles away anyway) he just needs someone in a couple of days a week. However the local authority have already refused to fund a SEN person to come into the nursery because of the catchment issues, and our local authority wont fund it for another borough either...
Sending him to a different school isn't an option really. I'm a single parent, and I can't be at two different schools for 9am/3:20pm everyday. Uprooting my eldest son from an outstanding school where he is settled and thriving and away from his friends that he's known since he was a baby to send him to one of the less desirable schools here is not an option either... (we live in a small town anyway where there's not exactly a whole lot of choice). So now I'm left with the options of move to the county (it's a very expensive area) keep him in the nursery for an extra year and hope that he improves enough to start school at five instead and wont need that support anymore, or pay for the SEN support myself (no one can really give me a clear idea of how much this would cost)
I would appreciate any advce/similar experiences! Thanks!